How my Mother's Lung Cancer has Affected Me

How has my mother having lung cancer affected me? Not an uncommon question to me. Especially since my mom is a very active patient advocate at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, and has been in numerous newspaper articles and TV interviews, including the Wall Street Journal and a LiveStrong survivor video. I’ve had many chances to answer that question, and I’ve come up with many different answers. The complete answer though, is lung cancer affects everything. My mom having lung cancer has, and continues to, affect and impact my whole life.

When I was thirteen years old my mom was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer and my life was turned upside down. I was confused, scared, and young. After a time of nerve-racking tests and stressful waiting, she was told to come home, spend her remaining six to eight months with her daughters, and enjoy the rest of her life. Well, if you knew my mom you would know that this news didn’t settle well with her. As a stubborn risk taker and independent woman, she looked for a second opinion. God led her to Vanderbilt. There are many stories of how my brave and courageous mother fought and defeated her cancer and then fought again. To sum it up, over two years consisting of four surgeries and a year of chemotherapy, with the help of some loving and caring doctors, nurses, friends, family, and of course the miracle of prayer, God healed my mother and today she is cancer free!

You may ask: How could that not affect you? But some people are surprised just how much something like this can take over and change your whole life. Above all, I learned that with God, anything is possible. My mom is living proof that no mountain is too high and no road is too tough for me. She is my inspiration to get the absolute most I can get out of life because you don’t know the future and you can’t control it. This bump in the road has also taught me to take care of myself. So many things in today’s society are so unhealthy and unclean. Why take chances? I say, do as much as you can to prevent the possibility of disease. I have learned to do everything I can to live my life to the fullest. Finally, I have learned to appreciate what I have been blessed with. My mom has been given the chance to meet and talk to many people struggling and dealing with the very same battle she fought and is still fighting today. Unfortunately, not every family’s story is the same as ours. Our journey hasn’t been a walk in the park; we’ve had our share of pain and heartache. But the only thing that matters now is that I have my mom. And I know I will never take that for granted.

My mom is a survivor and I am so proud of her. There isn’t even the smallest part of my life that hasn’t been affected or changed because of lung cancer in my family. I’ve experienced and learned a lot, and I have grown as a person. It wasn’t fun, but the trial brought me closer to my mother and younger sister. Above all, I’ve learned there is a reason for everything. Sometimes the hardest journeys are the most worth while.